Googletopia

Some people are scared that Google will take over the world. They are worried about lack of privacy and potential abuse from the Internet behemoth knowing everything that they do online. Others like author Nicholas Carr are worried that the Googlization of everything means that we’ll all stop reading and thinking. Today I visited Google’s New York office, and I can report that Google is a gentle giant. Life will actually be way more fun once the company achieves total world domination. We’ll all be happier, I think, as long as Google treats us as well as it treats its employees. Lunch will be free, as will dinner when you work late—and the food will be surprisingly varied. (I had maki maki with bok choy and sushi rice, and shards of butternut squash from the veggie raw bar, but I didn’t have to go all healthy and could have had fried chicken and other fatty dishes instead.) Anytime you need a break, you can retire to the Ping Pong, Fussball, billiards, and exercise-machine lounge. Or to the sandless box filled with multi-colored plastic orbs the size of tennis balls. Or to the expansive Lego play room. And whenever you need to nap, you can kick back in a reclining chair with your head in a pod and watch Google TV. Then there’s the free coffee and hot chocolate bar. If your laptop is misbehaving, you just bring it to the repair center and a friendly IT guy will fix it on the spot.